Numerical Simulations of Novel Conning Designs for Future Super-Large Wind Turbines

Abstract

In order to develop super-large wind turbines, new concepts, such as downwind load-alignment, are required. Additionally, segmented blade concepts are under investigation. As a simple example, the coned rotor needs be investigated. In this paper, different conning configurations, including special cones with three segments, are simulated and analyzed based on the DTU-10 MW reference rotor. It was found that the different force distributions of upwind and downwind coned configurations agreed well with the distributions of angle of attack, which were affected by the blade tip position and the cone angle. With the upstream coning of the blade tip, the blade sections suffered from stronger axial induction and a lower angle of attack. The downstream coning of the blade tip led to reverse variations. The cone angle determined the velocity and force projecting process from the axial to the normal direction, which also influenced the angle of attack and force, provided that correct inflow velocity decomposition occurred.

Keywords

• coned rotor
• aerodynamics
• wind turbine
• computational fluid dynamics